Common Goldeneye

As the ice on Mosquito Lake begins to melt and recede, many ducks seek the open waters for rest and some for food. Diving ducks eat fish, mussels and other available critters in ice cold waters. Among several species is the Common Goldeneye. This bird is named after its yellow eye, distinctly visible even at a distance.

The males cruise around open waters displaying for females, and as it turns out with an expectancy of finding a mate to share the journey to northern breeding grounds in wetlands, rivers, and lakes surrounded by mature forests in northern U.S. and Canada. The loyalty of this brief relationship is not quite clear but I was able to study part the life history of these fascinating birds first hand.

Dave Hochadel and I were studying a female Goldeneye that was paired up with a male in an open water location providing a great view. The female had an unusually yellow rather than dark brown bill. This brought to question whether this female might be the more rare western cousin, Barrow's Goldeneye.

It became clear that the female in question did not show other characteristics of a Barrow's Goldeneye but was, in fact, a Common Goldeneye. After all, this bird seemed to be paired up with the Common Goldeneye male. Then they proceeded to prove their bonding.

While we watched, the male made some head bobbing gestures and swam around the female that was lying in the water in a posture that looked like she was dead. The male worked his way beside the female who quickly disappeared under the water, while the male mounted her to breed. Once the breeding was over the male literally pulled the female out from under the water by the scruff of her neck and whirled her around in a semi-circle. And, as if nothing had happened, the Common Goldeneye world returned to normal.

This chance encounter was very special because it raised many questions, and it was an uncommon opportunity to witness something intimate in nature. I wanted to know whether Common Goldeneyes breed in migration to get a quick start on northerly nesting, and whether what we saw was normal or a aberration. Finding the answer wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

Being a retro kind of guy, I did not "google" the question. I searched for the answer among the many waterfowl books in my collection. I was looking for more enlightenment revealed from reading life histories than I was in getting the "quick" answer. Looking for the answer to my question was more educational than the answer itself, and I must admit considerably more time consuming!

I looked, in no less than, the best waterfowl guides to North American Waterfowl, the bibles used by sportsmen and ornithology students for many years........with no answer. I was disappointed and puzzled that there was no mention of the Common Goldeneye breeding. Breeding is pretty important to life histories.

Finally I went to the book shelf and picked out THE LIFE HISTORIES OF NORTH AMERICAN WILD FOWL: ORDER ANSERES, by Arthur Cleveland Bent of Taunton, Massachusetts, published in 1925.

The Bent Series was printed mostly around he turn of the 20th century, give or take 25 years, and the series contains a compilation of antectdotal accounts of the life histories of North American birds.
Much of the accounts were from the late 19th Century.

The Common Goldeneye account begins with "courtship" and Mr. Charles E. Alford provides an account of the breeding we witnessed in 1920. His account was far more elloquent than mine. Bent reveals that Common Goldeneyes do breed in migration and also or again on nesting grounds. The pairs bonded during migration apparently staying together, with the male leaving before the brood is hatched. There is no account of what happens when the pairs breed in their nesting area.

So I got my answer and much more information from arcane accounts. You see, the late 19th  and early 20th century time period was a very different time than the late 20th and early 21st century. The species accounts were during a time when people shaped science through observation. It wasn't a time of instant answers. There wasn't any "smart" or even "dumb" phones (like mine). Naturalists didn't "google" on a laptop: they "doodled" in journals. 19th century "tweeting" was performed by bird subjects, not by aspiring authors.

Here is the most important thing I learned about Common Goldeneyes:

It's your life. You can google "the middle of nowhere" or you can experience it. The best educators, the best technologies, the best gadgets, and the next best things will never replace exploring, discovery and revelations provided by the wild things and wild places in "the middle of nowhere". Cheers.

......because I have to.

I have been asked by many why I am driven to go birding so much.......to see the same birds over and over again. The short answer is "River Otters". I am pretty sure that answer begs more questions than it does answer a straight forward question. So here is a longer answer that will shed some light on my short answer.

When I was just starting to attend The Ohio State University I had no idea what I wanted to study. In the mean time I went fishing with friends in Ontario, Canada on remote lakes via vintage DeHaviland Beaver and Otter float planes. On one of those expeditions I wandered away from camp and happened upon a bluff above a creek. As I stood gazing at the stream a Lynx walked into an opening and took a drink. It was amazing. I had never seen such a creature.

I had already seen plenty of wildlife including bears.....but the Lynx was something different. What I witnessed for the first time in my life was wilderness. I have never seen another Lynx again, yet the Lynx remains the cornerstone of my passion, humility, and reverence for all things wild. The Lynx is a secretive cat that is threatened because of sensitivity to human disturbance. It is a poster child for wilderness and the threat we humans are to their fragile existence.

I figured out what I wanted to study in the boreal lakes of Canada. I had no idea where that career would take me nor could I have imagined what a profound impact it would have on Larry Richardson. I am still discovering the effects of a chance and brief encounter nearly 50 years ago.

Now I have a much better understanding of wildlife, wild places, ecology, natural history and myself, thanks to my education, mastering a career path in natural resources, and practicing environmental and natural history education. But I am, what I am, for what I have learned in the field (the middle of nowhere).

Northern River Otters are a beacon of hope in Ohio. This species was practically if not completely extirpated from the State. The Ohio Division of Wildlife introduced  the Northern River Otter back into selected, appropriate areas of the state with great success. The problem that threatened otters was pollution and their reintroduction a success, in large part, because of improvements by managing for clean waters they require.

This makes River Otters one of Ohio's signature species for moving in a wilder direction. It is unlikely that human disturbance will ever permit any portion of the state's return to wilderness but it is certainly a program that shows all of us how important it is to compromise what humans need with what wild things need. Improvements in biodiversity is just as important to over all human health, as it is for wildlife.

This River Otter pair I took pictures of raised a family on this pond in Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area last summer. They will do the same this year. Spring is coming soon to the beaver pond and Otters are fueling up for things to come. These guys were munching on catfish they caught under the ice and the thin veneer of slush forming on open water because temperatures are hovering at freezing.

I wouldn't have seen the Otters if I hadn't been exploring the wildlife refuge. I do my exploring by watching birds. It's true that I enjoy seeing the birds, but the fact is that I am a serious "discovery" addict. Very few days are a disappointment. The cool things I see by exploring these places are staggering. Serendipitous discoveries are the spice of my life.

So why do I go birding all the time and visit places new, old, near, and far. I love birds, and more importantly, I love wildlife and wild places. I am what I am thanks to a chance encounter with the Lynx, with wilderness, and with my own destiny. The reason I go girding over and over again is.....because  I have to.

Northern Shrike : a butcher-bird

In North America there are two species of Shrikes. The Loggerhead Shrike is a southern resident and Northern Shrike breeds in northern boreal areas. They are cool birds. Loggerheads are more common and a nearly extirpated breeder in Ohio. Northern Shrikes are rare and local winter visitors from November to March.

I have always liked shrikes. They are solitary birds that are just uncommon enough to always be a great find. Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area is known to harbor winter Northern Shrikes with it's rich and diverse open areas and plenty of perches around from which this bird loves to hunt from.

Shrikes are by every standard a successful and efficient predator. They can fly-catch, hover and ounce on insects and small birds relying on speed and stealth for a successful catch. Shrikes, like jays are hoarders. Jays stash or cache nuts and shrikes impale their victims on thorns, barbed wire or pointed sharp twigs. It is common in Texas to find grasshoppers impaled on the tips of the yucca leaves. Friends of mine documented a Golden-crowned Kinglet wedged in the crotch of two tree branches by a Northern Shrike.

I have not found the Northern Shrike in the ideal expanses of Mosquito Creek Wildlife Area until about a week ago. After several visits to adjacent grassy and old-field areas I have finally gotten some photographs. Recently, I found this bird perched at the top of a tree near the road. In the process of getting pictures the bird continued to sing musical notes repeated like a mockingbird (perhaps a soft "practice song") that ended with 3 loud, sharp, raspy calls followed by flight to another high prominent perch. It was a pretty song. It certainly didn't sound like a fearsome predator or an animal known as "a butcher bird".

Northern Shrike, Lanius excubitor was named by Linnaeus for the same species in Europe, the Great Gray Shrike. The genus name lanius means "a butcher" and excubitor further describes the bird (according to Linnaeus) "It looks out for the approach of hawks and warns little birds". It seems that the genus and species names are contradictory.

In our modern world the term "butcher" has been applied to both real and perceived monsters of both historic and science fiction characters. Surely the name reflects this diabolical hoarding practice. But the musical song and the recognition of alerting smaller birds just doesn't fit the mold.

It turns out that the term "butcher bird" is not at all judgemental but simply descriptive. You see, in 1544, long before America was even known, scientists gave the bird a name borrowed from the place almost everyone in the day could relate to: the market. The fellow that prepared the meat for purchase did so in a process. The early stage of carving meat was the sectioning the animal carcass and hanging sections on hooks where they remained until further processing. Butchers hang food on hooks and so do shrikes.

I love the middle of nowhere. The more you see, the more you wonder. And wonder leads to research, and research results in learning. The Northern Shrike is a wonderful bird with a wonderful song, and a wonderful life history. It was a wonderful experience, indeed.

A "Normal Day"..... with a camera

It was 16 degrees Fahrenheit when I got up this morning and we had a new 4 inch blanket of snow. Otherwise it looked to be a pretty nice day in spite of the cold and hefty 15-20 mile per hour winds. It didn't look promising for birding but looked like a good day to take the camera and document whatever crossed my path.

I wasn't disappointed because when you get into nature there are always surprises and discoveries. I like safe bets.

No one likes to get out in the great outdoors and run across a dead animal especially one that was harvested during hunting season. When you travel through wildlife areas you eventually find the spoils of hunting. This fact has never bothered me because it fits perfectly into the intricate web of nature.

Dead animals provide nourishment for any number of creatures from vultures, scavengers, and insects. Things that cease to live become an important part of the ecosystem. A concept that isn't often articulated is played out in reality every day. This is the transfer of nutrients through an ecosystem from the once living, to to be regenerated in many forms throughout the system, often living once again.

In the case of a carcass left by hunters, this is a practical recycling practice that is far more efficient then your local recycling services. I have provided pictures of Black-capped Chickadees and a Downy Woodpecker feeding on a well devoured corpse. These insectivores need protein and the carcass provides it. This happens to be the second carcass these birds have foraged on in this area over the last couple of months.

Whether you agree with hunting or not it is important to recognize that hunting is a recycling program practiced by humans for a very long time before we invented that name. I assure you that the chickadees and woodpeckers are very grateful today to be able to refuel on the spoils of hunting. This practice helps carnivores, scavengers and insectivorous populations survive the most trying of times of the year.

Seed eating birds have quite a different problem. Birds like Northern Cardinal don't eat meat but do need protein. They depend on fruits and seeds to get the necessary nutrition for surviving winter. December and January are challenging for these birds but a cold and wintry February can be a killer if the food supply is consumed earlier in the winter.

The ace-in-the-hole for most of these birds is Staghorn Sumac. This is that familiar natural shrub that has "hairy" or pubescent branches terminated by a similar red seed pod. The seeds are poor in nutrition but abundant, and just unpopular enough to provide sustenance for those birds in need for the final stretch of winter's cold and fury.

Actually Sumacs want to be consumed. This is one of the plant's survival strategies. Birds that eat the fruit and pass the seeds, distribute the seeds far and wide as well as nearby creating the possibility of growing new plants in places where they otherwise could never reach.

So the camera took me on a natural history tour of places, sites and sounds I experience every day. I documented the recycling of nutrients through the system by hunters, deer, chickadees and woodpeckers. I watched cardinals feeding on the fruits of the sumac to survive harsh conditions, knowing that somewhere a stand of new sumac will appear out of nowhere, thanks to a hungry songbird.

Yes, I saw a Pileated Woodpecker fly across the road in front of me. I watched a Red Fox pouncing playfully in the snow in hot pursuit of a Meadow Vole. The fox got a meal and in it's jubilation flung the Vole in the air and cased it down again, before they both simply vanished somewhere in drifting snow.

Nature is beautiful; balanced by stark realities that, while unpleasant, remind us that most importantly nature is a complex and amazing living system driven by survival and sacrifice. The best place to get enriched is in the Middle of Nowhere! Get out and discover it for yourself.

The Tipping Point

February 12, 2013 will probably be most remembered as "fat Tuesday". Otherwise it won't come up as any significant day in 2013 history but it is still significant. It isn't of meteorological interest nor seasonally noteworthy. Or is it?

I have already blogged about signs that spring will soon be upon us, at least here in Northeast Ohio. This Tuesday morning I observed a pair of Hooded Mergansers on a Mosquito Creek Wildlife area pond with a patch of open water. Those two are at least thinking about a family if not engaged in courtship.

There were 3 Male Common Goldeneye in a little open water on Mosquito Lake. They were swimming together and all three were bobbing their heads and ending with a gesture with bill skyward and the back of their heads almost touching their backs. This is a courting tactic that bonds them with a female. They weren't doing it to impress their buddies or to show off at all. At least not yet. You see, they just can't help themselves. It's SPRING. Their internal guidance system to attract the girls is in full throttle. They are doing this because they have to.......ready and perfected for some lovely would-be mate just up some north woods stream.

The morning started out with a serendipitous look at a Mink on ice skirting a stream that feeds into Mosquito Lake. This is a mammal that by 1860 was nearly hunted into oblivion for their furs, but have made a remarkable comeback because of conservation, protection and improving environmental conditions. They are a ferocious predator. I have seen them carrying a drake Mallard killed for its hungry family. The Mink is likely on the prowl for an early spring meal.

In the marsh I found a Virginia Opossum munching on some morsel of food it scavenged from the marsh. These Marsupials are primarily nocturnal but they are searching for much needed food after slim pickings on cold and snowy winter landscapes.

These things are signs of spring but do not necessarily define the beginning of spring. But one thing does announce that spring is official and joyfully true.

Winter is a silent season. There are sounds in winter. Canada Geese may be the only species more vocal than humans, no matter the season. There are natural sounds even in the deepest hours of winter. But on some day in early February songbirds begin to sing. It is like someone turned on a faucet. In fact the handle on the faucet is the lengthening daylight. And February 12, 2013 was the day the singing began and therefor announcing the first day of spring. There will be song in every habitat until the eve of next winter. and from this point it will build to tremendous and glorious crescendo in May and June.

I was serenaded by a Purple Finch at Mosquito Lake with a continuing loud song that was sung to absolute perfection. I could not find a Purple Finch for more than two months. They were probably there but I never could find them. Ironically, I enjoyed every note of the repeated song....but I could never find the bird. I'll take a song any day and the proclamation of spring.

It seemed everybody was joining the celebration. Tufted Titmice, Cardinals, even Yellow-rumped Warblers, could be heard uttering call notes, not a song, but that won't be too far down the trail. The middle of nowhere is somewhere and that somewhere is on its course for another year of beautiful places and wonderful sights and sounds.

You won't see February 12, 2013 as the first day of anything but take my word for it, Spring is officially here. In fact, don't take my word for it. Get out and find a little piece of nowhere and listen. No matter how cold or snowy it gets, the days from this point on will usher in song and spring!

A Casual and Rare Winter Vistor from America's Great Northwest

The Varied Thrush is a magnificent bird among our common thrushes. Although our American Robin is beautiful in its own right, the Varied thrush has some endearing qualities as well as stunning plumage.

A resident of the Pacific Northwest and breeding west of the Continental Divide it rarely but regularly wanders east including into the Great Lakes region. This is a pattern uncommon among most bird species but a few share this apparent wander lust.

A Varied Thrush has made its way into Holmes County, Ohio patronizing a feeder at an Amish home. The family welcomed at times hordes of birders anxious to see this species for the first time. I saw another bird at a feeder in Findlay State Park back in the 1980's but I was happy to make a trip to see another.

When I see a Varied Thrush it sends my mind and heart to the Rocky Mountains and Glacier National Park. The Varied Thrush is a signature of mature moist coniferous forests. It lives in dense, continuous stands of conifers. Sometimes they appear in the middle of a road but more often than not they are heard and nearly impossible to locate even when they are near.

The song sounds like a fluted thrush song delivered with a descending buzz. The males sing from the tops of spruce and cedar. They forage on moss laden forest floor. With even the best of effort they are still nearly impossible to find near, far up or down. The song is unmistakable and probably a bit unsettling if one didn't know it was a bird.

So, I love a mystery. It's elusive habits and it's casual "wander lust" are the very things that make this bird so cool and special. And when you finally get to see this creature it is punctuated beauty.

I have fond memories of visiting Glacier National Park in early June. The roads are closed and there may be 30 feet of snow at the pass that bridges west and east at the Continental Divide. Closed to vehicular traffic the road winding ever up to the pass and after a few hundred yards you see Glacier in all her wilderness glory. I watched Grizzly Bear mother and cubs crossing a high glacier and watched Ravens soaring high above.

It's a great walk. All along the way the erie and unmistakable song of the Varied Thrush serenades those the that weave their way along the road that bisects majestic spruce forest. And if your lucky a couple may grace you with an appearance on the quiet road ahead.

I enjoy seeing Ohio's rare visitors but I remain an advocate for birders to seek out as many birds in their natural habitat as possible so they can get to know the birds and more importantly the places they represent.

The Varied Thrush song is one best heard by the heart. My eternal pursuit of birds is smoking mirror. Birding is the leading edge of my insatiable need to experience wild places and wild things in the middle of nowhere.

Late January Signs of Spring

It's cold. It's snowing. It was -2 degrees a couple of mornings ago and has warmed to a toasty 14 degrees today. It is, unquestionably, January in the Great Lakes. Birding in the winter is relatively slow but it is also a good time for serendipitous discoveries.

So far this year I have seen 10 species of mammals. The best sighting was a pair of Coyotes on Mosquito Lake ice. I watched the two Coyotes acting more like puppies....out of character for their reputation. My guess is that frolicking, rolling around on the ice and laying on their backs with legs kicking around in the air may preclude a spring family. Just a guess.

I watched a an American Beaver lodge transform over a few days during the warm "January thaw". One day I could see that it was darker than it had been. After inspecting with binoculars it clearly had received a new coat of mud and muck. The Beaver was resting at the base of the lodge. The same was true the next day. On the third day the Beaver was absent but the Lodge had a new set of cut and crafted sticks and timbers. I think it was a renovation for a new spring nursery and the ultimate permanent thaw.

Yesterday I traveled to the Lake Erie shoreline along downtown Cleveland. Here is an infamous location where Gulls congregate to feed on Gizzardshad attracted to warm waters discharged by a power plant. It was brutally cold and a sobering reminder of what January can dish-out along the north coast of Ohio.

The visit was successful because there were lots of gulls. While we looked across masses of birds resting on near-shore ice it was all interrupted by other birds looking for more than Gizzardshad. Two Bald Eagles cruised over the masses along the harbor break wall and all the resting masses rose to the sky in two huge clouds. A Peregrine Falcon came to near shore and raised the birds near shore. The result was a conservative estimate of 100,000 gulls swarming in the air in front of the birders toughing out the extreme cold. It was an awesome sight.

The benefit of gull concentrations is that it usually harbors rarer gulls in the masses of Ring-billed and Herring Gulls. And with patience and practice we were able to single out Glaucous, Iceland, Thayer's, and Lesser Black backed Gulls among the chaos.

While the Lake Erie Bald Eagles were busy working out a meal I found 2 more Bald Eagles today engaged in another compelling activity. While cruising Mosquito Creek Wildlife area this morning I saw 2 Bald Eagles on the ground in a large open grassland bordered by forest. As I watched them hopping around on the ground the male rose up and with wings flailing for balance mated with the female. This is the only time I have been absolutely sure who was the boy and who was the girl as they are identical in plumage.

Breeding Bald Eagles, lodge maintenance and frolicking Coyotes are true sign that spring is not too far down the trail. But there are other hints as well. Have you noticed that the American Goldfinches are already looking much more yellow? Have you seen that European Starlings are losing body speckles and looking a bit glossy? Look at their beaks and you will see that the bills are growing into yellow. It is the bright yellow bill that appeals to the girls when winter turns to spring.

It's cold and still snowing. Winter will seem to linger forever for most of us but in nature all the creatures are watching the sun and adjusting to the lengthening daylight. Even if it stays cold, when the daylight signals spring, wildlife and wild places will be ready for the real spring ahead, especially in the Middle of Nowhere.